Lady Gaga, Jack White, Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, P!NK, Shakira, Sia, and ZZ Top’s Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons, and Dusty Hill are among the nominees for the Songwriters Hall of Fame’s Class of 2027.
The nominees are divided into two categories: performing and non-performing songwriters, with three inductees selected from each. Voting runs through December 14th, with the 2027 class set to be announced early next year.
Other nominees in the performing songwriters category include America’s Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, Boy George, Vince Gill, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Ne-Yo, and members of War.
The non-performing songwriters category features a lineup of hitmakers, including Pete Bellotte, who co-wrote Donna Summer classics like “Hot Stuff” and “I Feel Love”; Kandi Burruss, known for TLC’s “No Scrubs” and Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills”; and Stargate, the production duo behind Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable” and Rihanna’s “Diamonds.”
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Other nominees include Boy Meets Girl, who penned Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and “How Will I Know”; Andreas Carlsson, who co-wrote Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way” and *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye”; Stock Aitken Waterman, the team behind Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”; and Dan Wilson, whose credits include Semisonic’s “Closing Time” and Adele’s “Someone Like You.”
The Songwriters Hall of Fame Class of ’26 included Taylor Swift (who was inducted by Steven Spielberg, because sure), KISS’s Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, Kenny Logins, and Alanis Morissette. Consequence was on the red carpet for the event, and we talked to Billy Corgan about inducting KISS and The Sphere, and asked Corgan, Brandi Carlile (who inducted Morissette), and others about who they’d want on our list of the 100 Best Bands of All Time.
Nominated Songwriters
Pete Bellotte – “Hot Stuff” / “I Feel Love” / “Love to Love You Baby” / “Heaven Knows” / “Push It to the Limit”
George Merrill and Shannon Rubicam (Boy Meets Girl) – “How Will I Know” / “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” / “Waiting for a Star to Fall” / “I Know You by Heart” / “Bring Down the Moon”
Kandi Burruss – “No Scrubs” / “Bills, Bills, Bills” / “It Makes Me Ill” / “There You Go” / “Don’t Think I’m Not”
Andreas Carlsson – “I Want It That Way” / “Bye Bye Bye” / “It’s Gonna Be Me” / “That’s the Way It Is” / “I’m Alive”
Tom Douglas – “The House That Built Me” / “Grown Men Don’t Cry” / “I Run to You” / “Little Rock” / “Meanwhile Back at Mama’s”
Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer – “My Boyfriend’s Back” / “I Want Candy” / “Sorrow” / “Night Time” / “What Time Is It”
Bob McDill – “Amanda” / “Good Ole Boys Like Me” / “Gone Country” / “Don’t Close Your Eyes” / “Song of the South”
Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Hermansen (Stargate) – “Irreplaceable” / “Diamonds” / “Firework” / “So Sick” / “Take a Bow”
Maurice Starr – “Candy Girl” / “I’ll Be Loving You Forever” / “Is This the End” / “Step by Step” / “Popcorn Love”
Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman (Stock Aitken Waterman) – “Never Gonna Give You Up” / “I Should Be So Lucky” / “Together Forever” / “This Time I Know It’s for Real” / “Especially for You”
William Adams (will.i.am) – “Where Is the Love” / “I Gotta Feeling” / “Scream and Shout” / “OMG” / “Ordinary People”
Dan Wilson – “Closing Time” / “Someone Like You” / “Not Ready to Make Nice” / “White Horse” / “Treacherous”
Toni Wine – “A Groovy Kind of Love” / “Candida” / “Black Pearl” / “Your Husband, My Wife” / “You Came You Saw You Conquered”
Nominated Performing Songwriters
Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell of America – “A Horse with No Name” / “Ventura Highway” / “Sister Golden Hair” / “I Need You” / “Tin Man”
Debbie Harry and Chris Stein of Blondie – “Call Me” / “Heart of Glass” / “Rapture” / “One Way or Another” / “Dreaming”
George Alan O’Dowd (Boy George) – “Karma Chameleon” / “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” / “Time (Clock of the Heart)” / “It’s a Miracle” / “Victims”
Vince Gill – “Go Rest High on That Mountain” / “Don’t Let Our Love Start Slippin’ Away” / “I Still Believe in You” / “One More Last Chance” / “When I Call Your Name”
Melvin Glover (Grandmaster Melle Mel) – “The Message” / “Freedom” / “New York New York” / “Scorpio” / “White Lines (Don’t Do It)”
Stefani Germanotta (Lady Gaga) – “Poker Face” / “Bad Romance” / “Born This Way” / “Shallow” / “Die with a Smile”
Shaffer Smith (Ne-Yo) – “Irreplaceable” / “Let Me Love You” / “Give Me Everything” / “So Sick” / “Take a Bow”
Alecia B. Moore (P!NK) – “So What” / “Raise Your Glass” / “Who Knew” / “U + Ur Hand” / “What About Us”
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (Shakira) – “Hips Don’t Lie” / “Dai Dai” / “Whenever, Wherever” / “La Tortura” / “Inevitable”
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler (Sia) – “Cheap Thrills” / “Diamonds” / “Titanium” / “Chandelier” / “Unstoppable”
Thomas Sylvester Allen, Harold Ray Brown, Morris “B.B.” Dickerson, Jerry Goldstein, LeRoy L. Jordan, Lee Oskar Levitin, Charles William Miller, and Howard E. Scott of War – “Low Rider” / “Why Can’t We Be Friends” / “The Cisco Kid” / “The World Is a Ghetto” / “Spill the Wine”
Jack White – “Fell in Love with a Girl” / “We’re Going to Be Friends” / “Love Interruption” / “Seven Nation Army” / “Steady as She Goes”
Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons, and Dusty Hill of ZZ Top – “Legs” / “Sharp Dressed Man” / “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” / “La Grange” / “Tush”